Page 60 of The Dragon Queen

"Youokay?"Stormasksfrommyotherside.

Imentallyshakemyheadtoclearit. "Fine."

Andtherewassomethinghappening--somethinggoingon--

ButI'velostit.

Moreimportantly,Idon'tcare.NotwhenJianyu'sdragonissoaringjustabovemine,andRafe'sglidingbeneathme.Asmymates'powerful,sleekdragonssurroundmine,acrackleofdesireracksmyentireframe.

Buttheheatweletgrowtoaninfernothelasttimeweallflewtogetherdoesn'tbuildinthesameway.Itsmoldersgently,mymates'energymorewarmthanhot.

"What'sup?"Iask,mydragon'sgazedartingamongthefourofthem.

"Nothing,"Maliksays,buthisauraoftensiontellsmeotherwise. "JusthadsomethingIwantedtoshowyou."

Well,thathasmycuriositypiqued.

"Soifyou'redoneflutteringarounduphere..."Rafeintones.

Iglancefromonematetothenextagainandflapmywingsinthedragonequivalentofashrug.InodtowardMalik. "Leadtheway."

Chapter

Eighteen

EMBER

Weendupinthesamewingofthecastlewherewe'vebeenstaying,butonalevelofthecomplexthatI'venevervisitedbefore.Unliketherestoftheplace,whichisbrimmingwithUnityrefugeesandalltheotherswho'vecometojoinourfight,themarblehallwaysareeerilysilent.

Itrymybesttobepatient,buteventually,mycuriositywinsout. "Wherearewe?"

Malikdrawsmecloseagainsthisside,andthecoolcalmofhistouchseepsintome. "Theroyalquarters."

Iglancearoundwithfresheyes.Onthesurface,thissectionofthecastleisn'tthatdifferentfromtherest,butnowthathementionsit,there'sahigherlevelofrefinementandelegance.

"Ihopeyou'llforgiveme--I'vehesitatedtosettleourguestshere."

Ishakemyhead. "Ofcourse."

Forbothsentimentalandlogisticalreasons,thatwouldbecomplicated.

"Ifweexceedcapacityintheotherwings..."heoffers.

Isqueezehisarminunderstanding. "Iknow."

I'mstillconfusedaboutpreciselywhatitiswe'redoingherenow,though.Iglancearound.Raferollshiseyesdramatically,asiftomakefunofallthefuss,buthe'sotherwiseuncharacteristicallyserious.Stormshootsmeasmallsmile,andJianyumeetsmygazewithanencouragingnod.

Atlonglast,wearriveatanunassumingdoorattheendofanechoinghall.Malikgraspsthehandle,anditglowswiththefamiliarshineofamagicallock.Mybrowsdrawtogether.Securityhereishigh,butthisisnextlevel.

ButthemomentIfollowhiminside,it'sclearwhy.

"Thisis..."Itrailoff,takinginthepastel-coloredwallsandthesoftcarpeting,therockingchairsandplushcouchesandcarefullyarrangedshelvesfullofpristinetoys.

Alineofcurtainsseparatestheroomintwo,andonthefarendareacribandasmallbedandanotherrocker.TheaestheticofeverythingisuniquelyWaterDragonKingdom,withflowinglinesandnaturalwood.Butyoudon'thavetobeanexpertinearlychildhoodeducationtorecognizewhatthisis.

"Thenursery,"Malikconfirms,comingupbehindmeandwrappinghisarmsaroundmeinagentleembrace.

Awelloffeelingopensupwithin,myvisionblurringaroundtheedges.Itakeinthespaceagain,andbeforemyeyes,ittransforms.

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